How do you reside (apartment or house, roommates)? Are your housing decisions dictated by choice or necessity? Please explain.
I live in a 1 BR apartment by myself. I choose to live by myself, and in a walkable town with easy public transportation to and from NYC.

How do you travel (transit, car, etc)? Are your travel decisions dictated by choice or necessity? Please explain.
I commute to and from work by car. It’s a choice, but it was an easy one to make. I have a 30 mile trip to and from work, but while the transit in NJ is pretty great it’s geared primarily to getting people into and out of NYC for work and not from northern NJ to central NJ. So for me to take the train to my job it would take about 2 hours and cost over $10. I drive a super-efficient Honda Insight hybrid, so that helps. When I go into and out of the city I take public transportation, though I do make a lot of driving weekend trips to see my family in upstate NY.

Tell us about a Tiny Choice you’ve made in your life.
Most recently, I purchased a little spork made from bamboo to keep with me in my handbag. this way I never have to get a plastic fork or spoon when I’m eating “out” again!

What is the one environmental dilemma you personally struggle the most with?I think eating meat is the most obvious. I’m a lazy omnivore, and while I’m not currently eating much land-meat (I do eat a fair amount of fish) I know that the meat and dairy industries contribute to climate change and land and water pollution.

What is one Tiny Choice you can make in that direction?I haven’t been eating much land-meat lately, and I am committed to purchasing organic eggs and milk/yogurt for my home. I would like to do more but it’s hard to forgo all that yummy cheese in the supermarket “just because” I can’t prove it’s sustainably farmed! For all that, though, I would like to do more research on what I AM eating, and how it is produced. And I would really love to find a raw milk supplier but apparently that’s illegal in NJ.

What is the one environmental Tiny Choice you make that people question (in either a positive educational or a negative hassle way) you the most about?
I get a lot of hassle about recycling, believe it or not! Many people don’t realize so many materials are recyclable, and people think I’m a little “eccentric” for choosing to carry waste home so I can recycle it (or for picking up old batteries from the street).

What is the one environmental Tiny Choice you would like every single person to adopt?
I’d like people to think about the packaging of what they buy before they buy it. sometimes that might mean not getting a cup of coffee because you forgot your mug – which, I know, sounds extreme! but it’s a really good way to examine your immediate consumption habits and how they will impact the environment. Not just the global environment, but your local one too (in terms of waste disposal and transportation, littering, garbage cans tipped over by angry teens and/or raccoons…)

Do you feel like you make sacrifices for environmentalism? Please explain.
Not really. At first starting a new habit seems hard, but it gets easier rapidly the more you practice it.

Are you generally: optimistic, pessimistic, neutral about environmentalism and the future?
I’m optimistic! I am full of hope for the future! I think we’re at an interesting point right now where people are very aware of the environment, have a little bit of disposable income to consider investing in efficiencies, but don’t have the huge amount of cash that would preclude them from wanting to taking advantage of some of the cost-savings that go with the efficiencies you get from environmentalism.

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[...] read about it, but I’ve gotta say, I’m really digging it so far. Written by friends Karina Tipton and Jenn Sturiale, Tiny Choices tackles just that: the topic of those little choices you choose to [...]

Hi Karina, I just wanted to let you know how an actual tiny choice of yours was influential enough to make a difference! You wrote recently about how one of your tiny choices was to purchase some reuseable sporks to replace plastic forks and spoons. Well, your little action inspired one of your readers (Meredith) to do the same, and she told us here at re:modern while buying the spork, thus introducing me (a new reader) to your wonderful blog. Changing habits, a tiny step at a time – very cool!

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[...] some great responses to my tweet, but my favorite was from the very best co-blogger in the world, Karina, because she said she had a brand-new extra one she didn’t need! Free stuff is awesome; [...]

[...] I first read about it, but I’ve gotta say, I’m really digging it so far. Written by friends Karina Tipton and Jenn Sturiale, Tiny Choices tackles just that: the topic of those little choices you choose to [...]